Continuing
Cities have the power to accommodate to all yet fall short in the grand scheme of entangled policy and design. People seek suburbs for the things which the city lacks - comfort, greenery, privacy, domestic amenities, the quiet, the affordable, the space. And now - post-pandemic - suburbs are adapting to former urban dweller’s wishes for urban advantages such as dynamic public spaces, night life, spontaneous social happenstances. This is backwards. The suburbs are making up for what the city lacks, rather than the city incorporating the facets of suburbanity which some humans crave so much they purchase entire properties and cars. The suburbs, while they can be pleasant, isolate people into cars which increase their dependencies on fossil fuels; they frequently confine people into separated homes which somehow encourage neighborly interaction; they often remove the option of micro mobility and enable sedentary lifestyles. If privacy is what is sought in public space, let’s turn people away from suburban car culture by imagining public spaces with room for escape of the realm. If domestic amenities is what is sought, let’s redesign the homes for the needs of today the future, and undo the policies which give developers all of the power. Is greenery what is sought? We need to soften the city for many reasons already. Is it to grow a family? Grow a garden? Something? It should be in a city. Dependence on fossil fuels must end, and we can do this by condensing our usage and improving efficiency. But even then, why be in a city? It should be clean, safe, and beautiful. We should want to spend time together. We chould rebel to gel. The American Dream is together, and together is in cities.















